Meditation & Yoga

Chair Yoga

Food for Thought, Meditation & Yoga, Yoga

This is a short Chair Yoga Practices for anyone with balance issues or other physical limitations or those just wanting to start slowly. This practice will cover all the movements of the spine and has all the benefits of regular yoga.

THE POSES:

1) Seated Mountain Pose – Take a deep breath and sit up straight, extending your spine.And as you exhale, root down into the chair with your sit bones. Your legs should be at 90 degree angles, knees directly over the ankles. Take another deep breath as you roll your shoulders down your back, pull your belly button in toward your spine and relax your arms down at your sides, palms up. Just take a few breaths here.

2) Seated Cat/Cow – This is a wonderful stretch for your spine. Sitting upright in your chair, you’re going to inhale as you arch your spine, roll your shoulders down your back, bringing your shoulder blades onto your back. This is Cow position. As you exhale, round your spine, drop your chin toward your chest, allowing your shoulders and head to come forward, and tucking in your tailbone. This is Cat position. Continue moving between Cow and Cat – Cow on the inhale and Cat on the exhale – for a few breaths, moving at your own pace with your breath.

3) Seated Arm Raises – Begin in your Seated Mountain Pose with good upper body posture. Shoulders are relaxed and your upper body is sitting over your hips. Anchor your sit bones in your seat. And now reach your arms up toward the ceiling as you inhale. Exhale as you lower them back to your sides. Repeat this a few times, moving with your breath, at your own pace.

4) Seated Forward Fold – Take a deep breath in and, on your exhalation, fold forward over your thighs, with a flat back. You can rest your hands on your thighs or your shins or even reach to the floor if you have the flexibility. You might want to try using a block or something to rest your hands on. But find your edge, a good stretch for you, but not too much of a stretch. Just breath into this. Nice deep inhales and relaxing into that fold on the exhales, feeling that stretch along the back. And slowly coming out when you’re ready.

5) Seated Twist – Come back to the Mountain Pose to prepare for a Twist. Lengthen the spine as you inhale and twist to the right. You can rest your right arm on back of the chair; your left arm to the outside of that right thigh. Inhale lengthen; exhale twist.

Return to center and then switch directions, taking your twist to the left. Inhale as you lengthen your spine and exhale sinking into that twist. And just continue with your breath. When you are ready, move back to center into your Mountain Pose.

6) Warrior Poses – These three Warrior poses are a bit advanced so if they are too much of a challenge for you, feel free to skip them for now. But if you’d like to try, turn to the right side of your chair, keeping the right knee bent over the ankle. We’re going to stretch that left leg out behind you. Pressing the outside of that left foot into the floor. Square your hips toward the right knee and bring those arms up as you inhale, looking up to the ceiling for slight backbend. And breath into this pose. This is Warrior One.

Now bring the arms back down, twist the hips toward the front of the chair, arms out to the sides, looking out over that right hand. This is Warrior Two. And breath here.

Slowly begin to bring that left arm down the back leg, inhaling as the right arm comes up, looking up at the ceiling for a nice side stretch. And breath. This is Reverse Warrior.

Come back into your Warrior Two, bring your legs back to the center and prepare for this sequence on the left side.

Turn to the left side of your chair now, bringing that right leg out behind you, pressing the outside of the foot into the floor. Left knee is bent over the ankle. Twist the hips now toward that left knee. Now bring the arms up as you inhale, looking up to the ceiling for a nice back stretch. And breath. Warrior One.

Bring the arms back down, twist the hips toward the front of the chair, stretch the arms out to the sides, looking out over those left fingers. Make sure you don’t lock that back knee. Warrior Two.

Slowly bring the right arm down the right leg, inhaling as the left arm comes up, looking up toward the ceiling. And breath. Reverse Warrior.

Return to Warrior Two and then back to center into our Mountain Pose.

7) Seated Pigeon Pose – This is a wonderful hip opener. Bring your right ankle to rest on your left thigh, keeping your knee in line with your ankle as much as you possibly can. You can simply hold this pose right here, sitting up, or you can try leaning foward if you need a bigger Stretch. You can even try a more challenging stretch by reaching your hands toward the floor. You might want to try using a block or something to put your hands on. Just find which position works for you where you get a good stretch without hurting yourself. You can hold this for a few breaths and slowly come back up and out of this pose when you’re ready.

Now repeat this on the left side by bringing the left ankle to rest on the right thigh, again keeping the knee in line with your ankle as much as possible. You can do the same on this side as you did on the other. Remain sitting right where you are or you can lean forward a bit for a bigger stretch or try reaching the floor or your block for an even more challenging stretch. Whatever feels right for you. And just breath into this stretch. And slowly coming out of this pose when you’re ready.

8) Savasana – The final pose of this practice is called Savasana. Savasana is a resting pose designed to help you to take a few moments to absorb the work that you’ve been doing. In a regular yoga practice, Savasana would be experienced lying on your back on the mat, which is a fine option if you prefer. Chair Yoga Savasana, however, is typically experienced by remaining in your chair in the Mountain Pose position. Hands can relax at your sides or you can place them in your lap, whichever is more comfortable for you. Close your eyes if you’d like to and come back to your breath. Just take a few deep breaths here and give yourself a few moments. You can stay here as long as you’d like.

And when you’re ready, bring your hands to prayer at heart center. The light in me honors the light in you. NAMASTE.

Hope you’ve enjoyed this practice. Thanks for joining me!

With All My Heart,

Intro to Sun Salutations

Meditation & Yoga, Yoga

A Sun Salutation is a series of yoga poses designed to awaken the body with a flow of movement in all directions. This video is an introduction to Sun Salutations in which I break it down slowly to guide you through each move. After instruction in the basic flow of poses, I offer guidance for adapting the Sun Salutations for those with lijmited mobility and strength, as well as a more advanced flow for those looking for more of a challenge. Once you learn this vinyasa flow, you can repeat it several times to create a short practice that can stand alone or incorporate it into a longer yoga practice.

Intro to Yoga

Food for Thought, Meditation & Yoga, Yoga

I’m sure you’ve heard all the buzz about yoga in recent years. Personally, I’m passionate about yoga because it was a tremendous help to me in surviving a traumatic time in my life.

I discovered that yoga is the perfect way to prepare myself for prayer and meditation, helping me to be more calm and focused. I found it so useful that I later trained to become a yoga instructor, for my own personal growth, as well as preparation for supporting other women in trauma. Almost every person that I’ve taught has experienced an improvement in their mental state.

Although the practice of yoga has been around for thousands of years, it wasn’t until the late 1800s and early 1900s that yoga masters began to bring the teachings to the western part of the world. In more recent years, it’s become more mainstream and popular everywhere.

Yoga literally means “union”, which refers to the connection of your body, mind and spirit. Yoga, therefore, is the practice of centering and uniting the body, mind and spirit through the use of poses (asanas) and breathing techniques. What we commonly refer to as yoga in the West is technically called Hatha Yoga, which focuses primarily on the physical aspect of yoga (the asanas).

Many consider yoga another form of exercise, but, while it has all the benefits of exercise, it offers so much more. Unlike many types of exercise, yoga is not about pushing yourself or following the “pain is gain” mentality. Yoga is about listening to your body, being kind and gentle to yourself.

As I mentioned in the Meditation 101 series, yoga is a form of meditation, with all its benefits, when carried out with focused intention. Yoga can be used to calm the mind, strengthen the body and improve overall health.

Yoga is not just for the young and fit either. It can be adapted for anyone. I’ve taught chair yoga to people with limited physical capacity – and even to those who are wheelchair bound – with great results. No matter what your personal situation, there is a practice just right for you that you could find immensely enjoyable and rewarding.

Some people are concerned that practicing yoga would be contradictory or even detrimental to their religious beliefs. Yoga, however, is not a religion. It’s a philosophy of self discovery and universal truths that can be incorporated into any belief system. I use my yoga practice as an extension of my faith and a time for inner reflection and communion with my God.

So, maybe you are still wondering, “Why do I need yoga in my life?”. Let me share some of the many ways yoga can be beneficial for you:

Yoga improves balance, flexibility, strength and coordination.
Yoga strengthens the immune system.
Yoga improves the functioning of the cardiovascular system, increases blood vessel flexibility and reduces the risk of heart disease.
Yoga aids the digestive system and can help relieve IBS (irritable bowel syndrome).
Yoga helps the body to get rid of waste and toxins.
Yoga improves the functioning of both the respiratory and nervous systems.
Yoga strengthens and supports the bones and joints, and can help to ward off osteoporosis and relieve arthritis pain.
Yoga relieves stress, anxiety, and depression.
Yoga can be helpful in relieving headaches.
Yoga increases energy, improves your mood and calms your mind.

As you can see, yoga can be some strong medicine. But it’s not a quick fix. The best results will come from a consistent, steady practice. This doesn’t mean you have to spend hours a week practicing yoga. In fact, if you’re willing to take just 10 to 15 minutes out of your day to spend on the mat, you will reap great rewards.

As with any healthy habit that takes effort, you will most likely be faced with obstacles when you attempt to develop a yoga practice. Most of us have at least a little bit of a self-defeating side that fights against doing things that are good for us.

You may have physical or mental issues that make it difficult to do yoga. You may doubt your ability and make excuses for procrastinating. You may have negative or false ideas about yoga. It would probably be helpful to address each of these issues honestly.

Having struggled with all of these obstacles myself, my best advice is to take it one day, one step at a time. Start small and praise yourself for what you can do rather than beating yourself up for what you can’t do. Just hang in there and move forward at your own pace.

There are thousands of instructional videos and classes out there to guide you in your yoga practice, so I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel. What I’d like to offer on my videos are short, manageable practices that you can fit into your busy life without feeling overwhelmed. I’ll make suggestions for modifications that allow for most physical conditions, including a chair yoga practice. It’s important that you listen to your body and adjust the poses according to your needs and limitations.

Once you become more comfortable with yoga, you may find that you want to learn more and take a class or find some You-Tube videos that you like. That’s great, but if you choose to stick with my short practices, that’s great too.

Remember, yoga is not about pushing yourself or feeling guilty. So, if 10 minutes a day of yoga is what you can do, then be super proud of yourself! I’m proud of you! Your effort is more than good enough!

Most of all, I want you to enjoy your time on the mat. Think of it as a time to take a break from the stress of your life to spend time loving and nurturing yourself. No self criticism, no judgment, no right or wrong – just love. And soon you might even look forward to it as your favorite time of the day.

Go ahead and check out my yoga videos now, if you’d like. You might want to just watch them first and get the idea. If your mobility is extremely limited, try the Chair Yoga. Or start by learning how to do a Sun Salute, which makes a great practice in itself. Maybe you’d like to try the Bedtime Yoga to wind down from your day. Feel free to explore and experiment to find what appeals to you.

Happy yoga-ing!

With My Heart,